Google Ads Automated Promotions: Check Yours Now

Google Ads has a setting called Automated promotions. When it is on, Google looks at the pages your ads point to, finds any offer on them, and shows that offer in your ad without you writing it.

Reports said the feature began switching on for some accounts from 12 October 2026. If you advertise with discounts, seasonal deals or free quotes, it is worth ten minutes to check it.

What are Google Ads automated promotions?

Automated promotions let Google Ads find a promotional offer on your landing page and attach it to your ad as a promotion asset. Google's help page gives the example of a "buy one get one free" deal being picked up from your site and shown with matching ads.

A promotion asset is the extra line of offer text that can appear under a Search ad, for example a percentage off or a limited-time deal.

Which campaigns are affected?

Google's help page says the feature applies to active Search and Performance Max campaigns that have location assets attached, and that do not already have a manual promotion running. Location assets show your business address and distance with your ads, so many local service businesses have them.

Offers must also follow Google's normal advertising policies. If you already add your own promotion assets to a campaign, the automated version should not apply to that campaign.

How long does an automated promotion last?

Each automated promotion can serve for less than 24 hours at a time. Google's help page says it can be switched back on if its systems can still verify the offer on your website.

That makes the accuracy of your website the whole story. An offer you forgot to remove from a page can keep reappearing in your ads.

What can go wrong with automated promotions?

The risk is not that the feature is bad. It is that you are no longer the one choosing what your ad promises.

• An expired or finished offer left on your site could appear in an ad, and customers will expect you to honour it.
• An offer meant for one service or area could show against searches for another.
• Your team may quote full price to someone who saw a discount in the ad, which damages trust.
• You may not notice, because assets that have received no impressions do not appear in the Assets section, according to reporting on the rollout.

How do you turn off Automated promotions?

Turn it off in your account-level automated assets. The setting is on by default, and it is one switch for the whole account.

1. In Google Ads, open Assets from the Campaigns menu.
2. Open Account-level automated assets.
3. Choose the three-dot menu, then Advanced settings.
4. Set Automated promotions to Off. Google may ask for a reason.

Menu names can differ slightly between accounts, so follow the path in your own account if it looks different. If you use Google Merchant Center, its automated promotions have a separate setting, so check there too.

What this means for your business

Decide on purpose whether Google may write offers into your ads, then keep your website honest either way.

• Open your account-level automated assets today and see whether Automated promotions is on.
• If you run real offers, tidy your landing pages so only current, accurate deals are visible, with the terms and end date clear.
• If you prefer control, add your own promotion assets to the campaigns that matter. Google says automated promotions are not applied where a manual promotion is already running.
• If offers do not suit your business, such as emergency call-outs or quote-only work, turn the setting off.
• Tell whoever answers enquiries what offers are live, so no customer is surprised.

Then judge the result by what matters: did the offer bring booked jobs and paying customers, or just cheaper clicks and more enquiries from people chasing a discount? SholaX records the campaign, UTM tags and click IDs with each enquiry in its CRM and joins that to ad spend, so you can see which ads made money.

Is this a sign of where Google Ads is heading?

Yes, in direction if not in detail. Google has been adding settings that let its systems write or choose more of the ad for you, and many are on by default. The practical habit is to review your account-level automated settings every few weeks, because new switches appear without much notice.